Sunday, September 27, 2009

A first-half goal from Bates College sophomore Sam Alper (Holliston, Mass.) proved to be the game-winner as the visiting Bobcats women's soccer team defeated Wellesley College, 1-0, in non-conference action on Wednesday afternoon. The win improves Bates to 2-1-1, while the hosts fall to 1-4-1 on the season.

Alper's goal came in the 22nd minute when a shot from sophomore Tina Tobin (Lowell, Mass.) was deflected off of the hands of Wellesley keeper Katie Martore. Alper was in the right place at the right time and launched a strike over the head of Martore to give Bates the 1-0 lead.

Wellesley held a slight 9-8 advantage in shots at the half, but the game went into the break with Bates holding to their 1-0 margin.

The Blue opened the second half with five straight shots, including a bullet from Courtney Callahan. However, Bates sophomore goalie Annie Burns (Topsfield, Mass.) was up to the task and picked up three saves in the first six minutes of the second stanza, to keep the Bates advantage.

Despite 15 second-half shots for Wellesley, Burns saved three more in the second half, as the Bobcats held on for the 1-0 victory.

For Wellesley, Martore finished with four saves in 45 minutes, while Sarah Gray also tallied four stops playing in goal for the second half. For Bates, Burns recorded 11 saves in the shutout victory, her second shutout this season and the third of her career.

On Saturday,the Bates College women's soccer team provided a solid defensive effort, but it wasn't enough to stop Trinity College sophomore forward Leigh Howard (Bethany, Conn.) from scoring the only two goals of the contest as she led the Bantams to a 2-0 victory at Russell Street Field.

Howard's first and game-winning goal came in the 19th minute of the contest as she was able to sneak the ball into the left corner while being assisted by senior midfielder Lauren Olsen (Cheshire, Conn.). Howard later gave the Bantams breathing room as she received a pass from sophomore teammate Jenny Ley (Warwick, R.I.) and deposited the ball into the net in the 78th minute of the game.

Bates will be back in action on Wednesday with non-league in-state match-up with Husson University at 4 p.m. Trinity will host NESCAC foe Wesleyan next Saturday.

Sophomore goalkeeper Greg Watts (West Chester, Pa.) made several nice saves Wednesday afternoon to help Bates College preserve the shutout in a 2-0 victory over Plymouth State University in a non-conference men’s soccer game Wednesday at Panther Field.

The shutout is the first this season for Watts and the fifth of his career.

The Bobcats got an early goal from senior Ben Trook (Weston, Mass.) and a late goal from first-yar Ethan Hirshberg (Concord, N.H.) to earn their first victory of the season (1-3). PSU was shut out for the second straight game and falls to 4-2 overall.

Bates broke onto the scoreboard first when PSU freshman keeper Bjorn Ohlsson made a nice save on a direct kick, but Trook cleaned up the play to give the Bobcats the lead. That ended up as the only offense of the first half, although PSU had a pair of scoring chances as Watts made two nice saves off shots by PSU freshman Aly El Tambouly and junior Tommy Schrey.

The Bobcats nearly extended their lead midway through the second half when junior Patrick Jackson (Durham, N.H.) broke in alone, but Ohlsson made a nice save. PSU had a good opportunity to even the score with three minutes remaining when sophomore Dre Cabral (Tokyo, Japan) got off a clean shot from the top of the box, but Watts was there for the save.

The visitors sealed the victory with just under a minute remaining, when Hirshberg broke in alone through the Panther defense and beat Ohlsson one-on-one.

Ohlsson finished with five saves and Watts with four. PSU had a slight 11-9 advantage in shots and a 7-2 margin in corner kicks

On Saturday, the Bates College men's soccer team battled Trinity College to a deadlock tie in regulation, but the Bantams tallied the game's only goal in overtime to gain the win at Russell Street Field.

The Bobcats (1-4, 0-3 NESCAC) and the Bantams (4-0-1, 2-0-1 NESCAC) were in a defensive-dominated scoreless deadlock until the 96th minute of the contest. Bantam sophomore forward Dan Mayernick (Gladwyne, Pa.) scored as he took a crossing pass from junior midfielder Peter Marlette (Buffalo, N.Y.) near the goal. Mayernick and Bobcat sophomore goalie Greg Watts (West Chester, PA.) collided, and the ball found its way into the net for the game-winner.

Trinity held an 11-9 overall shot advantage in a very evenly played game. Watts recorded four saves for the Bobcats, while his counterpart, Bantam sophomore Grant Schonberg (Mendham, N.J.), turned in three saves.

Bates will be back in action on Tuesday as they travel to UMaine-Farmington for a non-league in-state match-up slated for a 4:30 p.m. Trinity will travel to Western Connecticut State on Wednesday.

The Bates College volleyball team outlasted Bowdoin College 3-2 in a home non-conference match on Wednesday evening in a steamy Alumni Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (5-2) traded sets with the Polar Bears (5-2), with Bowdoin taking the first and third sets (25-23 and 25-17) while Bates won the second and fourth sets (25-22 and 25-20). The Bobcats took early command of the final set and finished strong with a 15-7 set win and the overall match.

On Friday, the Bates College volleyball team swept Maine Maritime Academy 3-0 to start off Homecoming Weekend in a non-league match-up in Alumni Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (6-2) were dominant, winning three straight sets (25-15, 25-4 and 25-15) over the Mariners (8-2), who had their five-match win streak snapped.

Bates sophomore Olivia Schow (Costa Mesa, Calif.) led the Bobcats with six service aces and eight kills. Sophomore Grace Haessler (Portland, Ore.) set her teammates up with 25 assists and provided seven digs. Senior Brit Johnston (Winter Park, Colo.) recorded seven digs and four aces. First-year Nicole Russell (Boca Raton, Fla.) chipped in with nine digs and two aces. Other key contributers to the Bobcats' effort included senior Tess Dokus (Fairport, N.Y.) with seven kills and first-year Eliza Pyne (Atherton, Calif.) with six kills and three blocks.

On Saturday, the Bates College volleyball team swept another opponent during Homecoming Weekend with a 3-0 win over UMaine-Farmington in Alumni Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (7-2, 0-2 NESCAC) continued their weekend dominance winning three straight sets (25-11, 25-14 and 25-13) over the Beavers (4-6). On hand to watch the performance were members of the 1989 Bates volleyball team who were honored for the 20th anniversary of their perfect 36-0 season.

UMF was led by junior Emily Beebe (South Paris, Maine) with three kills.

Bates will be back in action next Wednesday at Colby College with game time for 7 p.m. UMaine-Farmington will also be back in action Wednesday with a home match-up with Thomas College.Field Hockey

The Bates College field hockey team held off the No. 10 ranked Trinity College Bantams for 25 minutes before the Bantams cashed in with their first goal, and Trinity rolled on from there with a 3-0 NESCAC victory on Homecoming Saturday at Bates.

Trinity moves to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play.

Trinity's Alanna Capasso scored in the first half on a penalty corner play, putting the Bantams ahead 1-0 going into halftime. The Bantams opened the lead up to 2-0 4:40 into the second half, as a breakaway attempt by the Bantams was rejected by Bates goalie Katie McEnroe. Carrie Wolcott was there with the rebound, though, making it 2-0.

Christy Bradley made it 3-0 with an insurance goal in the 49th minute of the game, Trinity's third unassisted tally.

Trinity outshot Bates by a 22-11 margin, forcing McEnroe into making a career-high-tying 17 saves. Gina Dinallo made six saves for Trinity.

Bates (1-5, 0-4 NESCAC) next plays host to Tufts next Saturday at 12 p.m., during Parents & Family Weekend. Trinity will host Wesleyan on Friday at 5 p.m.

Trinity College downed Bates College 35-14 in both schools' football season opener on Saturday, as the defending NESCAC champions rolled to their 11th straight win.

Trinity fumbled the ball away five times in the game but overcame that with a stifling run defense, limiting Bates to 30 rushing yards on 29 attempts, and a quick-strike offense that collected 400 yards despite a time-of-possession deficit of 25:29 to 34:31.

Craig Dubrosky passed for 210 yards and two touchdowns, both in the second quarter, one each to Michael Galligan (7 catches, 93 yards) and Winston Tuggle (3 catches, 117 yards). Tuggle's 71-yard catch and run up the middle pushed the Bantam lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter, and the Bantams added a deflating touchdown with 13 seconds left in the half when Dubrosky found Galligan in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard score, sending the teams into halftime with a 21-7 Trinity lead.

Trinity extended the lead to 28-7 in the third quarter on Robert Jackson's 1-yard plunge.

Bates closed the gap to 28-14 as Tom Beaton scored on a 3-yard run with 13:01 left in the fourth quarter, but the Bantams padded the lead back to 21 points two minutes later on a faked punt, as Ben Sherry galloped through a surprised Bates defense for a 37-yard touchdown run.

Oliver Starnes paced the Bantam ground attack, netting 73 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown, an 8-yard scamper in the first quarter. Trinity gained 190 yards on the ground.

Bates sophomore quarterback Ryan Katon completed 25 passes on 43 attempts for 203 yards and a touchdown, and was picked off twice. Beaton caught 7 passes for 87 yards and also ran for 18 yards on six carries, including the touchdown. Tight end Sean Wirth had a career-high eight receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown, a 9-yard pass from Katon with 3:09 left in the second quarter.

Trinity linebackers Walter Fallas (18 tackles) and Francois Auzerais (13 tackles) were all over the field for the Bantams.

Bates returns to action next Saturday for Parents & Family Weekend, hosting Tufts at 1 p.m. Trinity will host Williams on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.